Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Delivery Time! I Love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning (and in my mailbox)!

For the past couple of weeks, I was inundated with group break stuff which meant I had to put most of my other trade packages on hold. Amazingly, during that time I received not one but two different packages from Tim over at I Love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning.

Today's post pays tribute to both of the packages...and it also is my way of telling Tim that his mailbox will soon be seeing a return package from me show up in it!

First up, the thing that started the entire trade: Some 2015 Topps base cards.

Finally, though I'm not actively chasing them, Tim sent me a pair of the purple parallels (Toys-R-Us exclusives I think?).

I will say, the purple cards look quite sharp this year - much nicer than some of the past year's efforts by Topps! They don't scan great so you'll simply have to trust me that the purple parallels are nice!

In addition to all the 2015 set needs, Tim helped me out with a few of the older sets on my want list as well. Going back to last year, I am now one card closer to the 2014 Topps Heritage set.

At this rate, I should be done with 2014 Heritage by the time 2022 Heritage is released. And if you think I'm kidding, recall that I just finished 2007 Heritage a few days ago!

Tim also hooked me up with one of the 300 (or so) short prints from the 2008 Upper Deck Timeline set.

I liked the Timeline set quite a bit when it was released but I have to admit that I'm getting sick of seeing it linger on my want list! That said, I now only need another ?? cards until the entire set is complete! Here's what I'm looking for:

Next, another set that's been on my want list for awhile - 2009 Upper Deck Goudey.

Tim sent me a nice looking Bob Gibson from the set - this is my first '09 Goudey added to my collection in quite some time...which is another reason why I still keep all those old sets on my want list. You just never know when someone might discover a card you need!

Finally, it would have been an impressive enough pair of packages from Tim given the above cards - but Tim had one more trio of cards for me that were on my want list. For those, we go all the way back to 1999!

Those are three of the 1999 Fleer Ultra cards that I still needed - I love most of the Fleer Ultra line so again, I was thrilled to get that much closer to set completion! I must say that the Prospect card design sure hasn't aged well at all. Is that Netscape Navigator or some early version of Apple's OS that Fleer used for the basis of the design?!

At this point, you must be thinking that there couldn't be anything else in the packages that Tim sent...but you'd be oh-so-wrong if you actually thought that. You see, Tim sent a nice assortment of Reds including a pair of pretty cool die-cuts that were new to me.

I like the Griffey Jr. card best - how often do you see a die-cut card in the shape of a number? It would be great if there were die-cut twos, threes, and fours, as well but I'm guessing since the set is called "We're No. 1" that every card is die-cut in the shape of a one.

Tim also included a small stack of Barry Larkin cards for me which is awesome as I am trying to get huge collection of my favorite player! I'm only going to scan one for this post though - you'll have to wait for my Barry Larkin Collection posts to see the rest of 'em!

And that's it: The final card from the awesome trade packages courtesy of Tim.

Oh. Wait.

What's that?

I'm still not done?

The best is yet to come in fact?

Oh, well then.

Let's get on with it.

That's right - not only did Tim hit up my want list, my Barry Larkin Collection, and my Reds' collection - he also sent along SIX different "hits" for me to enjoy.

The first two hits were from 2008 Topps (Phillips from Updates & Highlights while Harang was from Series 2). For some reason, the Harang card is twice as thick as the Phillips card even though they both are the same card design...weird!

Next, a hit that I actually missed the first time I shuffled through the cards - there's a sliver of Austin Kearn's pants embedded in the middle of the card. The Kearns is also serially numbered 0783/1000...which means either you can get 1000 pieces of cloth out of a single pair of pants or else Kearns must have had to wear shorts for awhile as he sold off all his pants to Fleer.

That leaves us with the final three cards of the post (for real). First, an Adam Dunn home run medallion card from 2015 Topps.

The Dunn card is extra thick - and heavy! I like the way Topps worked the Reds' logo into the design of the medallion - certainly nice for a one-per-blaster "relic!"

Next, a card from 2014 Topps Update:

That's a World Series MVP patch card of none other than Johnny Bench. You have to love getting a card like this - a World Series win for the Reds and a World Series loss for the Yankees (sorry Tim)!

Finally, we get to the one non-Reds hit of the package:

That's a Ken Giffey Jr. card with a bench piece from Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.

Thanks a TON for all the great cards Tim. I can only hope that my return package to you offers half the enjoyment that you gave me. As for everyone else, if you'd like to trade be sure to check out my want list and make an offer!

5
comments:

I'm glad that you found some keepers in the packages Chris! I've found that I dig reading the posts others write about cards I've sent(I'm sure the majority of my fellow bloggers probably feel the same way, but it's still new to me). It's really given me another aspect of the hobby to enjoy. I've got another stack started for you so there will be more to come in the not-so-distant future!